Short is an adjective. You usually use it to say that something does not last for a long time.
Shortly is an adverb. If something is going to happen shortly, it is going to happen soon. This is a slightly old-fashioned use.
If something happened shortly after something else, it happened soon after it.
Don't use 'shortly' to say that something lasts or is done for a short time. Don't say, for example, 'She told them shortly what had happened'. Use briefly.
Noun | 1. | short - the location on a baseball field where the shortstop is stationed baseball diamond, infield, diamond - the area of a baseball field that is enclosed by 3 bases and home plate |
2. | short - accidental contact between two points in an electric circuit that have a potential difference circuit, electric circuit, electrical circuit - an electrical device that provides a path for electrical current to flow | |
3. | short - the fielding position of the player on a baseball team who is stationed between second and third base position - (in team sports) the role assigned to an individual player; "what position does he play?" baseball team - a team that plays baseball | |
Verb | 1. | short - cheat someone by not returning him enough money |
2. | short - create a short circuit in | |
Adj. | 1. | short - primarily temporal sense; indicating or being or seeming to be limited in duration; "a short life"; "a short flight"; "a short holiday"; "a short story"; "only a few short months" long - primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified; "a long life"; "a long boring speech"; "a long time"; "a long friendship"; "a long game"; "long ago"; "an hour long" |
2. | short - (primarily spatial sense) having little length or lacking in length; "short skirts"; "short hair"; "the board was a foot short"; "a short toss" long - primarily spatial sense; of relatively great or greater than average spatial extension or extension as specified; "a long road"; "a long distance"; "contained many long words"; "ten miles long" | |
3. | short - low in stature; not tall; "he was short and stocky"; "short in stature"; "a short smokestack"; "a little man" low - literal meanings; being at or having a relatively small elevation or upward extension; "low ceilings"; "low clouds"; "low hills"; "the sun is low"; "low furniture"; "a low bow" tall - great in vertical dimension; high in stature; "tall people"; "tall buildings"; "tall trees"; "tall ships" | |
4. | short - not sufficient to meet a need; "an inadequate income"; "a poor salary"; "money is short"; "on short rations"; "food is in short supply"; "short on experience" insufficient, deficient - of a quantity not able to fulfill a need or requirement; "insufficient funds" | |
5. | short - (of memory) deficient in retentiveness or range; "a short memory" | |
6. | short - not holding securities or commodities that one sells in expectation of a fall in prices; "a short sale"; "short in cotton" finance - the branch of economics that studies the management of money and other assets long - holding securities or commodities in expectation of a rise in prices; "is long on coffee"; "a long position in gold" | |
7. | short - of speech sounds or syllables of relatively short duration; "the English vowel sounds in `pat', `pet', `pit', `pot', putt' are short" phonetics - the branch of acoustics concerned with speech processes including its production and perception and acoustic analysis long - (of speech sounds or syllables) of relatively long duration; "the English vowel sounds in `bate', `beat', `bite', `boat', `boot' are long" | |
8. | short - less than the correct or legal or full amount often deliberately so; "a light pound"; "a scant cup of sugar"; "regularly gives short weight" insufficient, deficient - of a quantity not able to fulfill a need or requirement; "insufficient funds" | |
9. | short - lacking foresight or scope; "a short view of the problem"; "shortsighted policies"; "shortsighted critics derided the plan"; "myopic thinking" improvident - not provident; not providing for the future | |
10. | short - tending to crumble or break into flakes due to a large amount of shortening; "shortbread is a short crumbly cookie"; "a short flaky pie crust" breakable - capable of being broken or damaged; "earthenware pottery is breakable"; "breakable articles should be packed carefully" | |
11. | short - marked by rude or peremptory shortness; "try to cultivate a less brusque manner"; "a curt reply"; "the salesgirl was very short with him" discourteous - showing no courtesy; rude; "a distant and at times discourteous young" | |
Adv. | 1. | ![]() |
2. | short - without possessing something at the time it is contractually sold; "he made his fortune by selling short just before the crash" finance - the branch of economics that studies the management of money and other assets | |
3. | short - clean across; "the car's axle snapped short" | |
4. | short - at some point or distance before a goal is reached; "he fell short of our expectations" | |
5. | short - so as to interrupt; "She took him up short before he could continue" | |
6. | short - at a disadvantage; "I was caught short" | |
7. | short - in a curt, abrupt and discourteous manner; "he told me curtly to get on with it"; "he talked short with everyone"; "he said shortly that he didn't like it" |